When the people of St. Augustine returned, smoke still curled from the ruins of their fort and homes. Even their fruit trees had been destroyed by the invader. Governor Marqués sent word of the disaster to Havana. St. Augustine gradually arose from its ashes, rebuilt and somewhat improved with assistance from Spain and Cuba. The post at Santa Elena was at this time permanently abandoned in order to strengthen St. Augustine’s garrison. _Saving of Savage Souls_ King Philip II of Spain, Menéndez and their successors burned with zeal to convert the natives of Florida to Catholicism, and regarded this as a sacred obligation. After Drake’s attack, a friary or monastery was erected at St. Augustine to shelter the Franciscan missionaries who were beginning to arrive from Spain to work among the Indians. The friary was located on what is now St. Francis Street on the site of the present State Arsenal. [Illustration: Spanish missionary.] Other missionaries of the Jesuit Order had come before them, but in the face of the early antagonism of the Indians they were able to accomplish little. Jesuit missions had been established as far north as the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia, in the vicinity of Tampa Bay, and at _Tequesta_, near the present site of Miami. In about 1570 the Jesuits were replaced by missionaries of the Order of St. Francis, or Franciscans. The presence of Franciscans in Florida is recorded as early as 1573, but for a number of years they made only limited progress. The courageous friars endured many hardships and privations in attempting to carry the peaceful message of Christ deep into the Florida wilderness, where they lived alone far from civilized comforts and companionship. Some suffered torture and martyrdom at the hands of those they sought to save, but all went resolutely forth from St. Augustine eager to reap a glorious harvest of savage souls. The first Franciscan missions were established along the coast north of St. Augustine, where they could be reached readily by boat. If the Indians proved tractable and friendly, a crude chapel was built and the peal of a mission bell went out over swamp and woodland calling them to prayer. By 1595 the Franciscans claimed a total of 1,500 Indian converts. Two years later their success was interrupted by an Indian revolt incited by a young chief, who had been publicly censured for his desire to have more than one wife. Five Franciscans were clubbed or tomahawked to death. [Illustration: _Approximate location of the principal Franciscan Missions in about 1650._] _The Glorious Harvest of Savage Souls_